Self-marketing is not my strong suit. I don't feel very comfortable doing it, but Andy Warren (twitter | blog) suggests that we do so and he points out that by doing so we get the word out about SQLRally. If you haven't heard, voting on SQLRally abstracts is… Read more

Tuesday

PASS Performance Virtual Chapter - Five Fast Fixes for Fatal Flaws - Brent Ozar

Wednesday

SQL Lunch - Data Mining in SQL Server and Power Pivot - Adam Jorgensen

SSWUG - SQL Service Broker Advanced Performance Tips and Tricks

Thursday

SQL Lunch - Auditing Database Permissions in… Read more

I woke up this morning about 3 AM with clogged sinuses and a fever. Great. The changing weather patterns that plague South Carolina have felled me again. When I was in great physical shape in high school and the first half of college, I still felt the weather, but it… Read more

I won't say I despise SQL Server Management Studio's (SSMS) display for execution plans, but it's about at that level. With respect to simple queries, it's not so bad. But last year I got on on a project where the query plans were abominable in that display. It was actually… Read more

With the new securables since SQL Server 2005, Microsoft has advised that we start moving away from the fixed server roles like sysadmin and securityadmin. In fact, in light of the fact that securityadmin can privilege escalate to sysadmin, it was stated that the solution was to look at… Read more

Unless James Bond is in the picture, security is usually not a sexy topic. However, we all lament the lack of security when it directly affects us or when the amount of security is an encumbrance which provides no perceivable benefit. That's why I put a full down pre-con session… Read more

This coming Wednesday I'll be speaking for SQL Lunch on the topic of Auditing Database Permissions in SQL Server. The abstract for this presentation is:

Invariably, the dreaded auditors will come knocking at your door wanting to know who can do what in a database. Knee deep in other initiatives, the… Read more

Monday

PASS Data Warehousing/BI Virtual Chapter - Applied MDX - Kevin Geoff

Tuesday

PASS Application Development Virtual Chapter - Refactoring SQL Applications - Jeremiah Peschka

Pragmatic Works - Pro SQL Server 2008 Policy-Based Management - Jorge Segarra

SQL Lunch - Overview of Common DAX Expressions - Devin Knight

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 SQL Server MVP Arnie Rowland (blog | twitter) has been running a project, Project Phoenix, to benefit unemployed/underemployed developers who are striving to do development projects for non-profit organizations. In Arnie's own words:

One eligible developer and deserving non-profit project will be selected each week to receive a valuable… Read more

Tuesday

PASS - 24 Hours of PASS - LATAM: All Sessions in Spanish or Portuguese

Pragmatic Works - SQL Statement Tuning with Indexing Strategies - Kevin E. Kline

SQL Lunch - Mirroring: The Bear Necessities - Ryan Adams

Wednesday

PASS - 24 Hours of PASS - LATAM: All Sessions… Read more

Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) is a very common tool over on the Active Directory side. As the name implies, it gives us visibility into every user and computer within the domain. It also reveals other things, like groups, contacts, organizational unit structure, and potentially, group policy objects. When… Read more

I was having a Twitter conversation on this yesterday and naturally Aaron Nelson (blog | twitter) popped in with "PowerShell!"  I like PowerShell, don't get me wrong, but there are a few non-intuitive ways to check for SQL Server that likely are a little tedious to code in PowerShell. All… Read more

 Here are the slides and demo script from the presentation on Understanding SQL Server Query Processing.

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Monday

SQL Lunch - SSIS Design Patterns 1c: Variables, Events, and Automated Custom Logging Patterns - Andy Leonard

Tuesday

Idera - Accelerating Answers with Analysis Services - Stacia Misner

PASS Data Warehouse/BI Virtual Chapter - Maps Integration into Reporting Services - Matt Smith

PASS Application Development Virtual Chapter -… Read more

This past Saturday, October 2nd, we hosted Columbia, SC's first ever SQL Saturday. By the feedback we've received, both during the event and afterwards, I think I can safely say most people were satisfied by the event. Here's how I and my co-organizer, Bobby Dimmick (twitter), approached… Read more

Monday

Quest Software - Advanced SQL Server Troubleshooting - Kevin Kline

Tuesday

PASS Performance Virtual Chapter - Using Storage to Increase Database Performance - Denny Cherry

Wednesday

SQL Lunch - Building Your First PerformancePoint Dashboard in SharePoint 2010 - Adam Jorgensen

SSWUG - SQL Server and SharePoint Data… Read more